Every year, when Ghana marks Farmers’ Day, the nation pauses to celebrate the people who put food on its tables. But as the applause grows louder, so too do the questions about whether the country is truly honouring those who deserve it most.
Over the years, the Best Farmer Awards have come to symbolise more than recognition, they now represent success, prestige, and influence. Yet, many observers believe the meaning of the award has drifted far from its roots. The picture of the “best farmer,” once associated with the hardworking man or woman who tills the soil from dawn to dusk, has been replaced by a new image, one defined by large farms, heavy machines, and financial strength.
Among those questioning this trend is Dr. Frank Ackah, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Cape Coast’s Department of Crop Science. He believes Ghana must urgently rethink how it rewards its farmers and return the focus to the “true tillers” who have carried the nation’s food system for decades.
“We’ve turned the Best Farmer Awards into a reward for the rich man who just bought land and hired labourers,” Dr. Ackah said in an interview with The High Street Journal. “Meanwhile, the real farmer, the one who has farmed for thirty years through rain and sun, is forgotten.”
Dr. Ackah explained that the current selection process places too much emphasis on wealth, land size, and mechanisation, often overlooking the smallholder farmers whose persistence keeps rural economies alive. He said many of these farmers have no access to tractors or irrigation systems, yet they continue to cultivate the crops that sustain households across the country.
He warned that this imbalance risks discouraging young people from seeing farming as a meaningful and dignified path. By rewarding those who enter the field with capital instead of those who endure years of hardship, he said, the awards distort the real value of agricultural labour.
“If the real farmers never win, what message are we sending to the youth?” he asked. “We make it look like farming only becomes important when you have money. That is wrong.”
Dr. Ackah said it was time to redefine what it means to be Ghana’s “best farmer.” True excellence in agriculture, he argued, should not be measured by tractors or hectares, but by dedication, innovation, and impact. The real farmers, he noted, are those who consistently produce food despite droughts, pests, and market challenges, the people whose daily struggle keeps Ghana fed.
He further urged policymakers to look beyond prestige and adopt a more grounded approach to agricultural recognition. For him, the goal should be to inspire and sustain local food production, not simply to reward large-scale investments. He believes the awards should tell the stories of perseverance, the farmer who never gave up on the land, the woman who turned a small plot into a thriving community source, and the youth who farm against all odds.
Dr. Ackah also emphasised the importance of community participation in the award process. He suggested that nominations should begin from the grassroots, where people truly know who contributes most to their local food supply.
“Let the people choose,” he said. “Those who see the work daily will be more honest than a committee in Accra.”
As the nation prepares for this year’s Farmers’ Day celebrations, his call resonates as both a challenge and a reminder, that the heart of Ghana’s agriculture does not lie in tractors or money, but in the worn hands that till the soil and keep food on the nation’s table.
